[svlug] StarOFfice to be GPL'd, integrated with Gnome

[Jan-Albert Venter]

As I said on slashdot, I hate staroffice, why would anybody want an office
suite that looks like windows ?

-----Original Message-----
From: J C Lawrence [mailto:claw at kanga.nu]
Sent: 20 July 2000 08:29
To: dfox at belvdere.vip.best.com
Cc: svlug at svlug.org
Subject: Re: [svlug] StarOFfice to be GPL'd, integrated with Gnome 


On Wed, 19 Jul 2000 21:56:31 -0700 (PDT) 
dfox  <dfox at belvdere.vip.best.com> wrote:

>> I don't use Gnome or KDE or any other desktop-style interface.  I
>> have no intention of ever using such for the simple resaon they
>> they don't do anything I want.  I don't want icons, I don't want

> Well, some do like to use them. Besides, it's about choice, and
> while you might not like either gnome or KDE, some people
> do. 

True.

> Plus, Unix systems (and Linux generally) get better recognition if
> they have a number of good and easy to use front-ends (like
> kde/gnome). Sure, you can use fvwm, or AfterStep, or even olvwm if
> you like that sort of thing. At least you have choices, unlike MS.

Which neatly side-steps my argument.

>> Now, by the sound of it, if I'm to use StarOffice, arguably one
>> of the better Linux office packages I'm going to be forced yet
>> further into Gnome et al without any functional justification
>> that I can see.

> Some integration with KDE and/or gnome in SO would be a good
> thing. First, the new kde 2 (in alpha at present) plans on
> including some useful tools and methods of interest to those that
> would use SO. 

Perhaps I should restate.  I don't mine SO et al being
Gnome/KDE/Corba/whatever *friendly*.  I don't mind others perceiving
and using the benefits of such integration.  That's their choice and
preference.  I do mind them imposing those things on me in my use of
such tools.  If I can continue to use SO as a stand-alone
application without it caring that I have nothing else of Gnome/KDE
installed and configured other than the appropriate shared libraries
being physically present, then I'll be happy.

Choice is good, but it also cuts both ways.  Heavy handed
integration and dependency on operating _environments_ reduces
choice as it removes the ability to use the tool in abstentia.

>> <<One ceases to wonder at this point why I use Word Perfect for
>> my word processor>>

> When you could have LaTeX? :)

Actually you catch me in the middle of updating my resume under Lyx
(I checked meail while waiting for a view_dvi to compleat).  Yep,
its a beautiful system that I could very easily become quite fond
of.  I also rather like it for another reason: I've become
increasingly annoyed at the limited text editing abilities of most
word processors (exception: XyWrite).  As I'm also an XEMacs user
I've found that I tend to write in XEmacs and then postprocess for
presentation in WordPerfect and more recently Lyx.

Lyx makes this two step process easier and more manageable than
WordPerfect does.

-- 
J C Lawrence                                 Home: claw at kanga.nu
---------(*)                               Other: coder at kanga.nu
http://www.kanga.nu/~claw/        Keys etc: finger claw at kanga.nu
--=| A man is as sane as he is dangerous to his environment |=--

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